The first trailer forAndrew Haigh’s highly-anticipated British romance fantasy film, All of Us Strangers, landed last night, and it looks like it’s going to be a devastating watch.
Against the extended dance version of the Pet Shop Boys’ Always On My Mind, we are introduced to Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal), two neighbours who start to develop a romantic relationship.
It’s not clear what they mean to each other yet – or will come to mean to each other – but they start talking about Adam’s childhood. His parents died just before he was 12 years old, he tells Harry.
Then the trailer takes us away from the London tower block, and to a suburban house – Adam’s childhood home. Adam approaches the building, and as he enters who should be waiting for him but his mum (Claire Foy) and dad (Jamie Bell), frozen in time?
“Is this real?” asks Adam. “Does it feel real?” replies his mum.
“Our boy’s back home,” smiles his dad, holding out his glass in another scene, as the reunited family sits around the table. “Our son,” replies his mum smiling.
The upcoming film, which is set to be released next January, looks to be at once complex, mysterious, frightening and beautiful. It premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival in Colorado last month, where it picked up some stellar reviews.
The film has 94 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been described by critics as “a nuclear-grade tearjerker”, “an enormously satisfying and affecting experience,” and having “piercing insight and arresting performances”.
All of Us Strangers is loosely based on Japanese writer Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers, which tells the story of a man who befriends two strangers who closely resemble his dead parents.
It has been written and directed by award-winning British filmmaker Haigh, whose 2011 drama film Weekend told the story of a brief but intense romance between two men who meet at a gay club. The film was highly praised and won Best Screenplay at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.
Since then, Haigh has directed and written 45 Years (2015), which starred Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as two retirees who have been married for 45 years. At the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, both actors won the Silver Bear awards for their roles in the film.
Haigh also directed Lean on Pete (2017), a coming-of-age drama which starred Charlie Plummer as a young man who makes friends with a racehorse.
